The development of a competitive container suitable for beer and soft drinks and other foodstuffs has been under study recently by the industries concerned. It is an economic fact that the least expensive container will dominate the market. Drawn and ironed two-piece containers or cans made from aluminum and tinplate are known and appear to be competitive from a price standpoint. The search continues for an even less expensive can.
One way to reduce the metal cost of steel cans is to use blackplate, the base material which is coated with tin to produce tinplate. However, the use of blackplate for drawn and ironed cans presents several problems. These problems include: blackplate rusting during shipment and storage, costly lubrication procedures required for ironing, difficulty of cleaning the ironing lubricant from the ironed cans, and requirement of additional coating materials to fully finish the inside of the can.